Kenya Insights

Tag: Cornel Rasanga

  • How Rasanga swindled through Covid funds

    How Rasanga swindled through Covid funds

    Siaya County Governor Cornel Rasanga is on the spot for spending more money from the county emergency fund than the amount that was allocated to the county emergency fund to fight Covid-19.

    Rasanga who was questioned by the Senate Standing Committee on Health fumbled to explain where he got the Sh115 that he spent in fighting Covid-19 yet the money allocated to the fund was Sh100 million.

    The Auditor General’s special audit report on how the devolved units spent the Covid-19 funds shows that Siaya’s emergency fund was flagged over over-spending of the county emergency funds. But the governor claimed that his administration only spent Sh100 million and not Sh115 million as indicated in the special report.

    “It was established that as of 31 July 2020, Sh115,884,928 had been committed for Covid-19 related activities which was against the approved budget allocated to the county emergency fund for Covid-19 purposes,” the report reads.

    The Auditor General’s office had confirmed that there was enough evidence to prove that Siaya county made the payments amounting to Sh115 million. Rasanga who was questioned via remote gave conflicting statements with the team from the AG’s office.

    “There may be an error but I can confirm that we did not spend more than Sh100 million. I can confirm that all commitments were charged within the funds. There was no over expenditure,” Rasanga claimed.

    Sen. Fred Outa, Chairman, Senate Standing Committee on Health [p/courtesy]
    Kisumu County Senator, Fred Outa, who chairs the committee directed the controversial governor to provide proof of his expenditure after he gave him one week to provide evidence that he did not overspend.

    Siaya spent Sh270 million in Covid-19 related emergencies where  Sh100 million was from the county emergency fund with the county receiving Sh60 million on July 3 and another Sh40 million a week later.

    The county also received Sh97 million as government conditional grant, Sh6 million from Danida , national government health workers allowance of Sh36 million and Kenya Devolution Support Programme (KSDP) Sh30 million.

    The AG’s special report comes after a section of Rasanga’s senior staff were recently exposed over rampant looting in the county. The assembly Speaker George Okode was found to be leading a cartel that is also swindling county funds through suspect deals.

     

     

  • Governor Rasanga sending bursaries to ghost students

    Governor Rasanga sending bursaries to ghost students

    Alego Central MCA Leornard Oriaro has raised a red flag after learnt that most of the recently released Siaya county bursaries are benefiting ghost students.

    He said the county government of Siaya will lose millions of shillings meant to benefit bright but needy students if Governor Cornel Rasanga’s is left to fraudulently distribute the funds.

    Oriaro noted that hundreds of students who were legible to benefit from the bursary have been locked out through a scheme that is carefully crafted to block those who sat sat for KCSE and those who completed college last year.

    Rasanga’s administration has rolled out the the unfair despite many needy students who sat for examinations in 2019 having their certificates detained in various institutions for nonpayment of fees.

    The MCA faulted the argument that the money was meant for those in Form Four this year. He categorically stated that the beneficiaries were in Form Three last year when the list was compiled.

    Oriaro further clarified that all bursary applications are done by November after which the applications are compiled and sent to the education office for processing.

    The MCA insisted that the just-released bursary is for the 2019/2020 financial year and therefore must cater for the beneficiaries who were in Form Four or in their final years in college last year.

    He challenged the controversial Siaya Governor Cornel Rasanga to come out and clear the air over the impasse that has seen destitute children denied certificates by various institutions.

    Oriaro added that the people of Siaya have not forgotten the 2018/2019 bursary wreck where the county lost Sh74 million that has not been accounted for to date.

    Alego Central MCA Leornard Oriaro. He also claims Rasanga has threatened to take his life [p/courtesy]
    Governor Rasanga released a Sh30, 785, 000 bursary with claims that it would benefit Form Fours and students in tertiary education who currently back in schools.

    The  revelation comes after Siaya Speaker George Okode on Wednesday announced that Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) officers will now be part of the interrogation team to grill county government officials appearing before the county assemblies to answer audit queries.

    The speaker’s move is a shift from the past when county executive committee member and chief officers would appear before the county assembly public accounts committee members alone.

    Okode whose move is to insulate Rasanga from investigations called on the County Executive and their chief officers to ensure due diligence in the execution of their work to avoid audit questions.

    “A time like this when we are starring at transition, we do not want a future where people who have served this country with honour for the longest time to be called to answer audit questions,” he said.

    Rasanga on his part  lamented that governors have been subjected to bear the bad image whenever improprieties and audit queries are raised in their counties.

    Governor Rasanga is said to be considering to oust MP Samuel Atandi of Alego Usonga in 2022 with hopes of featuring in the next regime as a minister if BBI sails through.

     

  • Cornel Rasanga’s Communication Team Embroiled In Sex Scandal With Peoples Wives

    Cornel Rasanga’s Communication Team Embroiled In Sex Scandal With Peoples Wives

    Siaya governor Cornel Rasanga’s county communications department has been mired with sex scandals that have since sparked off outrage from members of the public who demand quick action before they take the matter in their own hands.

    Normally, County Communication teams entails proffesionals that are directly charged with ensuring that the Governor’s deeds, administration and leadership face remains on on a positive public side at all times.

    However, things are totally different in Siaya county’s Comm office, as one senior officer Salim Odeny has been alleged of having raucous appetite for married women.

    Siaya Governor Cornel Rasanga

    Curious members of the public have been making impromptu visits to the governor’s office in search of Salim Odeny, the hypersexual dude who eloped with a mans wife since the time the husband of the snatched woman went public.

    Background checks indicate that Siaya Comm Office is led by Jerry Sando and Eric Juma. Locals speacking to media on anonymity stated that both Juma and Sando are staunch Christian yet shelving the sodom and gomora odeals at the County office.

    While campaigning in 2017, Cornel Rasanga said that there will be no employment opportunities in the county for outsiders. A promise that he seems to had fulfiled as his  Siaya communications docket is filled with, apparently, local individuals who are not officially recognized as county employees.

    According Siaya county records, Salim Odeny and  Makamu wa Makamu are in governor Rasanga’s communications team but they only get paid based on private assignments from the Governors cut.

    Makamu, is described by the locals as governor’s attack dog. He, together with Odeny are always ready to fire up the crowd and through their prowess neutralise any environment considered hostile against their employer, Siaya governor.

    Whereas Makamu has fastened to his job, Salim Odeny has turned into a notable wife snatcher and angry locals are now planning to publicly ‘teach him a leason’ in front of the governor.

    Odeny, who is a married with three children had capitalized on his closeness to governor Rasanga and snatched the wife of a middle-aged man only identified with street name as Ruler.

    Ruler and angry residents of Siaya stormed Rasanga’s office to take action after it emmerged that Odeny had allegedly kept his wife in unrevealed location for three days.

    The same accused Odeny according to Weekly Citizen, lost his last job with an international NGO due to his unpaired appetite for married woman and staff.

    Salim Odeny is also an alcoholic who can’t stand nor meet any high integrity standards set by any international or local organization. All these, perhaps, indicate why he’s employed by Cornel Rasanga!

    So how did he get the Siaya communication gig? According to documents filed at Siaya Comm offices, Salim Odeny, in his CV, is discribed as an activist, public critic, governance and development consultant who was retained from Governor Rasanga’s campaign 2017 team due to his luo-oratory skill.